Wisconsin Journey Chapter 4 Study Guide
Be able to match each person from Wisconsin’s early history to their
description.
Etienne Brule - He is believed to be the first European to see Wisconsin.
Jean Nicolet - He wore a Chinese robe when he met the Winnebago
Indians. He hoped the Native Americans would show him the way to China.
Jacques Marquette - He was a Catholic priest who went with Joliet to find
out where the Mississippi led. There is a University in Milwaukee named in
his honor.
Louis Joliet- He was a mapmaker who was sent by the French governor to
find out where the Mississippi River led.
Pierre Radisson - He was one of the first French fur traders to make trips
into Wisconsin to trade with the Native Americans.
Claude Jean Allouez- He was a missionary who helped the Indians build a
mission on Madeline Island. He and the Indians later built a mission near
the Fox River. It later became the city of Green Bay.
Rene Menard - He was the first Jesuit missionary to teach the Wisconsin
Indians about Christianity. He started a mission at Chequamegon Bay.
Vocabulary
bartering - trading what you have for what you want.
colony - is a community that is ruled by a larger country far away.
merchants – people who buy and sell things. Usually merchants were also
explorers and trappers.
missions – places like churches that were built by the Jesuit priests. They
lived and taught there.
pelts – soft thick furs from animals
Facts to Know:
France - was the first county to claim Wisconsin and the Great Lakes area
as their property. Wisconsin was part of what was called New France.
The Mississippi River was an important discovery because it was a route to
travel from Canada all the way to the Gulf of Mexico by water. Traveling by
water was much easier than traveling by land.
The American fur trade started in the Great Lakes area because beaver fur
hats were a popular fashion in Europe. The trappers in Europe had killed all
their beavers there so they came to America to find furs.
The French and Indian Wars were between the French and British. They
were fought to control the land and fur trade around the Great Lakes. When
they ended, the British took control over all of the forts and waterways of the
Great Lakes trading area, which included Wisconsin.
In 1763 an Ottawa chief organized Woodland tribes against the British.
Pontiac’s Rebellion was a group of warriors from 18 tribes that attacked the
British forts and settlements because they wanted the French to be put back
in control of the trade in the Great Lakes area.
The Jesuit priests came to Wisconsin to teach the Native Americans about
Christianity and convert them into Catholics.
The Native Americans traded their furs for metal pots, knives, axes, guns,
needles, glass beads, cloth, blankets and food.
There are two main reasons that Wisconsin was an important discovery for
the fur traders.
1. Wisconsin has many rivers. In early times they were used as
transportation routes, like highways are today. Thousands of beavers
also lived in the rivers.
2. Wisconsin has thick forests. Other animals with thick furs lived in the
forest. It was a good place to trap furs.
Besides getting new trade goods, the fur trade changed the Native
American lifestyle in the following ways:
1. The Native Americans stopped hunting for the food they needed for
the winter so they became dependent on the merchants for their winter
food supply.
2. They were exposed to European diseases that many of them died
from.
3. They formed friendships and alliances with foreign countries which
got them involved with the wars between the French and English and
later the Revolutionary War.